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Dolphins-Redskins Superbowl XVII - 30 years ago today.

It is hard to believe how time flies....30 years ago today, the Washington Redskins defeated the Dolphins 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII at the Rose Bowl.

I was a junior in high school. Everyone has probably seen the video of John Riggins breaking the tackle of Don McNeal along the sidelines and running for a TD. We had so many chances to win this game. Fulton Walker returned the opening kickoff for a Touchdown to give us a quick 7-0 lead. Bokamper had a sure INT and TD slapped out of his hands by Joe Theisman. This game hurt me as much as any game I have ever watched.

It's scary how fast time goes. I wasn't alive for the game, but I remember as a kid people would tell me about it, and it was referred to as, "Well 10 years ago..." Hard to believe those days were 20 years ago for me!

I remember it well. I, too, was a junior in High School. That game was a crusher. We had it right in our finger tips and, as you alluded, to Theismann knocked it out of Bokamper's hands at the last second. That was the beginning of the end of the Killer B's. Team's started grounding and pounding on us in subsequent seasons. I always wondered if we would have been better off pulling Woodley in the second half and turning to the Strocker when it was clear Woodley wasn't moving us. It should have been our 3rd World Championship. Sigh!

I remember it well. I, too, was a junior in High School. That game was a crusher. We had it right in our finger tips and, as you alluded, to Theismann knocked it out of Bokamper's hands at the last second. That was the beginning of the end of the Killer B's. Team's started grounding and pounding on us in subsequent seasons. I always wondered if we would have been better off pulling Woodley in the second half and turning to the Strocker when it was clear Woodley wasn't moving us. It should have been our 3rd World Championship. Sigh!

Woodley was never the same after this. I heard he started drinking heavily and he died of liver failure in his mid-40's. I think Shula should have put Strock in the game...one of those shoulda/coulda moments.

Remember it well. Of the three Super Bowls we lost, that was the only one I expected to win. I awoke that morning with the instant thought that the Dolphins would finally be Super Bowl champs by the end of the day, after a drought of 9 years. Nine years seemed like a long time in those days.

I thought our pass defense would carry the day. It was a truly great pass defense. Shut down Fouts a few weeks earlier, in the rematch of the overtime game from a year earlier.

At that point I knew about pass defense but not net differential. A little bit more than a year later I started getting engrossed in football stats and realized Washington had some edges in that game. But it wasn't until late summer 1987 that I found out about the overwhelming significance of yards per attempt, offensively and defensively. Almost immediately I grabbed my thick stats books and backtracked to this game. It was a stunner, almost like finding a DNA match. Washington had massive edges in the key areas. Theismann averaged more than 8 yards per attempt to 6 for Woodley. While our pass defense was superior to theirs -- 5.7 to 6.8 -- the net was heavily tilted toward the Redskins. I realized Washington should have been a huge play, particularly getting 3 points. If that game were played today, given greater knowledge of relevant categories, I'm convinced the Redskins would be the favorite.

I have the game on tape but didn't upload it to YouTube. The NFL is eager to pounce on any full game they find on YouTube, particularly a playoff game. But I did upload the key Bokamper/Theismann play a few years ago and so far it's still available:

If memory serves, Walker's TD came after Washington tied the game 10-10. Despite the loss, I felt this was Don Shula's best coaching season ever. To get the Dolphins to the Super Bowl with David Woodley at quarterback and then to actually lead the game 17-13 in the 4th quarter was pretty remarkable. We didn't really match up well against the Redskins. Washington could stop the run and Miami really didn't have a passing game. Still, if Bokamper makes that play the Dolphins probably win.

If Woodley had completed a pass in the second half we probably would have won. In fact, any drive or production in the second half by our offense and the defense does not tire out. Unfortunately, Strock came in 1 series too late. One other pet peeve from this game... I never have been convinced of Washington's last TD. Out of bounds reception, ruled the defender pushed him out, TD... but I never thought he had a prayer of coming down in bounds, and they never really commented or replayed it in any way (still have not see a decent replay; I could be wrong, but it always bothered me). It was 3rd and goal, an incomplete and Washington kicks a FG to go up 23-17. Two minutes left down six, with Strock and at least a chance. SB losses are tough to swallow.